The Dying Man
by kevinlucis
Summary: A void needs to be filled, but secrets must be kept. Stiles will learn the truth about his Mother's unfortunate death, but not without his own truths being revealed. "Reality is just an illusion". Derek and Stiles share one soul, split in half between two people. Takes place immediately after the events in 2x12. Sterek!
1. Chapter 1 - The Lies of a Dying Man

**Chapter One**

_If you're going through hell, keep going. _Although Hell is a very familiar place to Stiles, he had not felt so alone since the passing of his Mother. After the break-up of Scott and Allison, Stiles and Scott were finally able to practice lacrosse without any interruptions. Stiles tried to be sympathetic about the break-up, but he was just happy he didn't have to share his best friend anymore! Considering all that has happened within the past month, the sense of normalcy while practicing was fulfilling for the two friends. However, Stiles could not help but repeat that statement in his head on the way back to his house after dropping off Scott. Stiles had a void in his life, and he struggled to figure out how to fill it.

He could feel the trauma again, the trauma he felt during the slow death of his Mother. While his mother struggled with her illness, Stiles felt as though he was slowly dying as well. He was losing his best friend, which made him feel as though he no longer had the will to live. He had always been close to his father, but his father could never take the place of his best friend. Stiles was consumed by the fear of losing the people he loved, and that created a distance between him and his Father. It took years before Stiles could open up again, and even then he still had anxiety.

The sun was disappearing over the horizon and Stiles could hear his stomach start growling at him like an angry dog. Then he started to think about the emptiness of their refrigerator at home and it made him even hungrier, so he turned around and started heading towards the local grocery store. As much as he tried to focus on other things instead of his sadness, even the hunger Stiles felt in his stomach could not hide the pain he felt in his heart. Eventually Stiles thought if he turned on the radio and listened to cheap-sounding pop music, maybe his mind would be able to wander away from the loneliness.

The sound system in his Jeep was non-existent. In fact, his radio isn't even a car radio; it's a portable radio he got for his birthday that he just leaves on his dashboard. Nonetheless, he likes it – better to have a working radio than not have one at all. He flipped on the switch and, unsurprisingly, "Call Me Maybe" was on 94.9, a radio station devoted to overplaying cheap pop songs. It was perfect! The lyrics were so mind numbing that he forgot about his loneliness, and instead focused on how pathetic the world is, which was just the lesser of the two evils. Stiles laughed and remembered when his mom had a playlist on her iPod labeled "Crappy Pop Songs", but he wasn't exactly sure why. She was more of a rock-n-roll type of a girl, despite being married to the sheriff.

Right as the song ended Stiles began the feel his Jeep shake even more than it usually does. With all of the repairs he has made in the past few months he figured nothing else could possibly break, but knowing the Jeep, he wasn't surprised. Then he looked down and noticed the fuel gauge was below empty, and at that moment his car stopped accelerating and he just puttered to the side of the road. He was in such a state of disbelief that he just stared out into the distance like a zombie. "What else…" He repeated to himself.

The universe must have heard him very clearly, because as he picked up his phone to call Scott, the battery died in his hand. Things could not get worse, could they? He didn't want to question it aloud again! He did have some money in his wallet, although he would be sacrificing groceries for gas. He was already sore from practicing lacrosse; the thought of walking down the road and back with a can of gas was exhausting. Unfortunately for his legs, he did not have a choice.

He went to get his jacket out of the back seat, and as he turned around he noticed headlights pulling up towards him. The sound of a Camaro echoed in his Jeep and he realized that things, in fact, were getting worse. It was Derek Hale. Derek is very rough with Stiles, but even that's an understatement. Stiles saved Derek's life more than once, but regardless, Derek seems to love picking on him. Stiles was used to it, not just with Derek but also with everybody, because he has always been very vulnerable. Stiles got out of his Jeep and unapologetically started walking over to Derek's car window.

"Having car troubles?" Derek rhetorically asked with a grin on his face.

"Did you actually just grin?" Stiles said in disbelief, "I ran out of gas. You must really enjoy finding me helpless on the side of the road…"

"No, no… I was just happy to see you." Derek responded.

"Really?" Stiles asked. Then, Stiles started to smile back, he was not used to Derek being so nice to him!

"No. Not even remotely," Derek replied with his signature glare back in his eyes, "I just enjoy finding you helpless."

"If you aren't going to help me, then just leave me alone," Stiles started telling Derek, "you're just making things worse than they already are for me."

Tears started forming in Stiles eyes. Derek could hear Stiles heart rate rising and realized how truly sad he was.

"I'm sorry, Stiles," Derek started telling him, "I don't mind helping out a little. I'm not busy, and I'm almost sure that my car is not running on empty!"

Stiles looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Wait… hold on, are you actually Derek or…"

Derek immediately interrupted Stiles and said, "Just get in the car before I change my mind."

"Ah, there he is!" Stiles said as he got his stuff out of his Jeep and ran towards Derek's Camaro.

As they started driving away, Stiles finally felt safe. His friendship with Derek was hard for him to understand, sometimes he wasn't even sure if Derek even considered him a friend, but at least he knew Derek could protect him regardless. They both have major trust issues. Derek is not as dissimilar to Stiles as he thinks. Derek is unwilling to open up for the same reason that Stiles does not want to open up: they are afraid of losing the things they love.

Stiles stared out the window counting each light pole they passed. For a while, Derek seemed fixated on the road, as if he had forgotten that Stiles was in the car.

"Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful that you got me, but what were you doing on this side of town anyway?" Stiles asked Derek, trying to break the awkward silence.

"I was visiting the cemetery." Derek solemnly said.

"Oh, wow, and I thought the silence was awkward." Stiles said, trying to be funny. Holding a serious conversation was extremely difficult for him to do. He continued, "Who were you visiting there?"

"Nobody… Nobody you know." Derek said briskly, making it clear that he did not want the conversation to continue. Thankfully for Stiles and his conversational skills, they quickly arrived at the gas station and Derek pulled up next to a fuel pump to get gas for himself first.

"Go inside and buy a 1 gallon gas can. I can pay for you gas, just bring the can out here." Derek strictly told Stiles as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Alright, Mother, do we need any bread as well?" Stiles sarcastically asked as he got out of the car.

Stiles started walking towards the entrance of the gas station, and noticed the cashier inside chewing Bubble Tape gum, or eating it – he wasn't really sure. Then he looked at the man in the back of the gas station staring at milk cartons contemplating whether he should get 2% milk or skim. What Stiles failed to notice, however, was the black truck driving around the corner. Based on the Laws of Physics, trucks do not corner very well. They also don't stop very well. The driver slammed on the brakes once he noticed Stiles standing there, frozen like a deer in headlights.

Stiles stared at the front of the truck as his stopped inches away from him, while in his mind he pictured ten different "What if…" possibilities. The truck driver started yelling and waving his arms around and trying to make it seem like he didn't do anything wrong, as if Stiles was at fault. Stiles, however, did not say a single word. Derek ran over and pulled the man out of the truck and threw him against the ground, and almost immediately looked at Stiles directly in the eyes.

"Go inside and get the gas can, now." Derek told him, "I'm going to give this guy some driving tips."

Stiles started walking forward but kept his head turned, watching Derek intimidate the man. Stiles knew that Derek loved being intimidating, but he wasn't used to Derek being so protective of him. Stiles felt calm despite what had just happened. He walked over to the cashier, who had her eyebrow raised, revealing her multi-colored eye shadow.

"Heeyyy, man, you totally freaked me right there!" The cashier said, as she began obnoxiously chewing her Bubble Tape again. Or eating it, he still wasn't quite sure.

"Yeah… sorry about that… I think he's drunk, or something…" Stiles found it difficult to explain what had just happened without making a big deal out of it.

"Oh, hun! Listen, if you need a witness…" The cashier began to say

"No, no, I'm good. Really. I just need a gas can!" Stiles said, pretending to be in a hurry.

"Alright, sweetie, they are $11.99." She said, trying to be as nice as possible.

Stiles paid for the gas can and walked out and noticed the truck was gone. Derek was sitting in his car staring at Stiles, but Stiles couldn't figure out if Derek was angry or worried. Probably angry; he's always angry! Stiles walked over to the car, took the gas pump out of it, and filled up his gas can. He got the receipt and ran over to the other side of the car, and jumped inside. He held the gas can in his hands like a prized possession.

"Where did that guy go?" Stiles asked, slightly concerned.

"To the nearest hospital, probably." Derek said as he turned on his car.

"Note to self: never go to this gas station ever again." Stiles said, laughing a little – but he was not kidding.

It did not take long for them to drive back to his Jeep and put more gas in, but Derek was still acting very protective.

"I'm going to follow you home to make sure nothing happens." Derek told him, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

"Ok, Mother, I love being treated like a 6 year old!" Stiles said, sarcastic as always, "It's kinda like you holding my hand as I cross the street… except we'll be in separate cars and we won't be holding hands! Unless you want to…"

Derek did not respond, but instead gave him his signature glare. Then, he asked, "Is your dad home?"

"No, he is working third shift." Stiles told him.

"Then I am going to stay at your house for the rest of the evening." Derek definitively told him, "You can't stay home by yourself."

"Please, Mother, tell me, why not? I always stay home by myself." Stiles responded, assuming Derek was saying he was too young to stay home alone.

"Because." Derek simply told him, slightly raising his voice.

"Because…. Because why? What are you hiding from me?" Stiles also started to raise his voice, it seemed like people were always hiding things from him.

"Because, the man who almost hit you… he's a drunk. He threatened to run you over. I just overreacted. He will not find you, I'm sure, but I don't want to take any more chances. Not tonight." Derek told Stiles, while trying not to seem too worried. He did not want Stiles to be in fear of his life; he knew how much Stiles struggled with anxiety.

"You just want an excuse to spend more time with me!" Stiles joked. He felt like he should be scared, he's usually scared any way, but knowing that Derek was staying with him continued to make him feel safe. He began to realize that Derek relieved his problems dealing with fear, a job previously held by his mother. Stiles was just unsure how he could thank Derek for his help without pissing him off, so he just quietly said, "I appreciate all your help tonight," and got out of the car.

Stiles got in his Jeep and let out a long, well-deserved sigh. He was still very hungry, so he was going to have to create some random concoction once he got home. He turned on his car and started driving, carefully watching the headlights following behind him. He began to wonder what was going through Derek's mind right now, and questioned why he was all of a sudden so worried about him. Logically, Stiles realized that there was no way the man in the truck could find out his name let alone where he lives, so he didn't understand Derek's motives for staying over. He wasn't going to complain, though, the thought of having some company was nice.

Stiles pulled into his driveway, but noticed Derek drive past him and park down the street, possibly to eliminate any chance of Stiles's Dad seeing his car. Stiles just went inside his house without waiting for him. Stiles then walked to his kitchen and began to remove the most random, probably expired, foods out of the refrigerator. Everything remotely edible was laid out in front of him, and he was trying to figure out what he could make He enjoyed cooking, though, and wished that he had been able to go to the grocery store like he originally planned. Derek entered the house casually and walked towards the kitchen.

"Hey, man, I am trying to channel my inner Betty Crocker right now. I'm starving." Stiles said as he stared at the random food products spread out across his counter. Then he continued, "So… do you ever eat, or…"

"I am used to not eating, but I am not against it." Derek replied, "… but I would be against eating any combination of these ingredients."

"You sound so sure of yourself," Stiles began, "But I have been known to create the most randomly delicious foods in Beacon Hills!"

"Alright then… surprise me." Derek said, with a grin that barely qualified as a grin.

Stiles then looked at the bottom of his freezer and found a box of frozen pizza. "Change of plans," Derek said with a smile.

Later they found themselves in the living room sitting on the only couch without the sheriff's files on it. Stiles had a plate with 4 half-eaten piece of pizza, while Derek had a plate with 1 slice of pizza that had already gotten cold. He insisted that he wasn't hungry, but Stiles gave him a piece any way. Stiles was shifting between random channels trying to find something to watch, but could not make a decision.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Stiles asked, "Or are you not staying that long?"

"I don't _want _to watch a movie, but I will." Derek said back while rolling his eyes at the thought.

"Fantastic, because my Dad just bought me the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD!" Stiles said, and then responded in his Yoda voice, "Watch it, we must."

Derek watched as Stiles happily ran over and popped in the DVD.

"We're going to start with Episode IV," Stiles proudly proclaimed, "but Episode V is my favorite! We should be able to watch both…"

Derek was ignoring his impulse to act aggressive towards the idea. After seeing the look his eyes earlier, Derek was not in any position to disappoint him. The incident outside the gas station was also enough to cause some empathy, but there seemed to be an underlying issue that Derek was not bringing up. Derek seemed to be more connected to Stiles than he was before. Derek began to feel Stiles's emotions, but the reason for that was unclear.

The two sat on the couch as yellow text scrolled across the screen, Derek didn't bother reading what it had to say. Stiles was rambling on and on about the movie, reciting every other line and talking about his favorite character, Yoda, who disappointingly enough was not a part of Episode IV.

"Make popcorn, I must!" Stiles shouted to Derek from the kitchen.

Stiles came back in the living room after he made popcorn and had a stern look on his face.

"I want to watch Episode V instead." He said matter-of-fact.

"But we already started watching this one…." Derek tried to argue.

"You actually care?" Stiles questioned.

"No… I don't." Derek said as he sank deeper in the couch cushion.

The movie started, and familiar yellow text flashed up the screen. Scene by scene, Derek sank deeper and deeper into the couch. After moments of Stiles shrieking with surprise as if he had not seen the movie already, and him throwing popcorn at the screen, Yoda finally appeared in all of his glory. Stiles screamed like a girl. After witnessing Stiles fangirling, Derek began to pay more attention to the movie, which was unusual for him, but eventually he began to notice out of the corner of his eye Stiles acting tired. The excitement must have quickly passed through him.

Stiles yawned, "This is my favorite part…."

He then, without seeming to think about it, lifted his legs off the carpet and spread them across the couch. Apparently he had forgotten that Derek was there. Derek looked down at the pale legs lying on his lap. He noticed the mismatched socks, unsurprised also by the smiley face written with sharpie on one of them. Derek stared at Stiles as he drifted into sleep. Stiles looked so peaceful, and Derek began to wish he could feel just a fraction of it. Quickly, he began to notice his feelings shift. Peace began to pour over him like water, as if he was directly feeling the peacefulness of sleep just by watching Stiles lying there.

Derek placed his hands on one of Stiles's pale legs and began to question the noticeable bond that was forming between the two of them. Derek had not felt so peaceful since he was able to communicate with his late sister. She was the anchor that held him down in the world, and without her, he just let go of everything. For the first time since her death, he felt connected again. Derek began to realize that by protecting Stiles, he could enjoy the benefit of having a friend again.

Derek wasn't sure how to explain to Stiles why he was being so protective of him in the first place. It certainly was not because of some random drunk at the local gas station. No… it was so much more than that. The depth of his mother's death was deeper than Stiles could possibly imagine. Derek knew the truth… but he did not think Stiles could handle it.

"_He isn't ready…"_ Derek quietly told himself.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Secrets of a Dying Man

**Chapter Two**

Stiles could smell the brimstone surrounding him like smoke, but he had to keep moving. There was no turning back now, not after all he's been through. Footsteps echoed off the walls as Stiles entered the Great Hall. He approached two pillars and kneeled down to signify his allegiance to the Zeus statue carved out in front of him. The marble God of Thunder rose out of his throne and handed Stiles a sword. Voices echoed throughout the castle, _you are the chosen one._

Almost immediately after Stiles grabbed the glowing blue sword, the Zeus figure began to disintegrate into sand, and blew away like diamonds in the wind. The fires that lit up the entire castle began to burn out, leaving only the moonlight to create any visibility. Stiles dropped the sword in astonishment as it started to ring like a cell phone. "There are no cell phones on Mount Olympus!" He shouted as the scenery around him began to fade into blackness.

Rain was pouring against his bedroom window, thunder was roaring like lions in the sky, and Stiles unwillingly opened his eyes to reveal the messy bedroom surrounding him. He stared at the ringing phone that was lying on top of his nightstand next to his bed like a predator eyeing its prey. He left the warm confinement of his blankets to quickly grab the phone, and answered it without bothering to see who was calling.

"Hello?" Stiles questioned with a cracked morning voice – even though it was not morning!

It was Scott. He began to speak in a cheery, wide-awake voice, "Hey dude. Were you sleeping? You know it's noon…"

Stiles looked around, but could not figure out how he got to his bedroom. He vaguely remembers last night somewhere between pizza and Yoda, but he also couldn't even remember Derek leaving. He then answered Scott, sounding slightly annoyed, "Yeah! Not that you actually care! I was in the Temple of Zeus… I was a hero…"

"Right…. right, so what was up with the text you sent me last night?" Scott asked with a confused tone to his voice.

"When? I don't remember sending you a text last night." Stiles questioned

"Actually… you sent two. You have awful memory." Scott blankly said

"Oh… right, maybe I did. Is that why you called?" Stiles still could not remember sending anything, but he didn't want to continue talking about it.

"Well, not the only reason. You wanna practice lacrosse later?" Scott asked

"Can't…. my dad is having 'family night' tonight… he has been working graveyard shift lately so it's pretty important to him." Stiles said, trying to seem uninterested in the idea.

"Damn, ok! That's cool. Just text me then!" Scott said as he hung up the phone, without formally saying goodbye or waiting for a response from Stiles.

This led Stiles to feel more disconnected from Scott once again; a feeling he was hoping would not come again so soon. The simple things, such as a goodbye, mean the most to Stiles, and Scott just abruptly hung up the phone. Was he surprised? Not really. At this point, nothing was surprising to him because of how predictable people are…. Well, everyone with the exception of Derek.

Stiles began to go through his phone to see what was sent last night. He clicked on Scott's contact name, but the last text he sent was yesterday morning. He immediately remembered that his phone was dead since his car ran out of gas, when he tried calling Scott. Stiles couldn't even remember plugging in his phone to charge, and there it was on his nightstand… mostly charged but not even plugged in. His brain was melting. Stiles just tried to focus on more important things… like whether he should just eat cereal for lunch.

Jumping out of bed, Stiles realized he should probably take a shower and put on some clean clothes. He fell asleep fully dressed, without changing into pajamas! Normally he just slept with his boxers on, though. Pajamas were usually reserved for lazy Sunday mornings. He grabbed some clean clothes and a towel, which he assumed was clean, and walked to his bathroom. Stiles turned his shower on and stared into the mirror with the memories of yesterday flashing through his mind. He felt weird about falling asleep without saying anything to Derek, but he did not have a way to contact him.

Stiles jumped in the shower and pressed his hands up against the wall in front of him. The water poured off his head like a fountain as he sat there, wondering if maybe Derek used his phone to send Scott a text without asking him first. Stiles couldn't ask Scott what the texts said without being suspicious. Maybe if there was a way for him to take Scott's phone and look himself, but how could he do that now that he already told Scott he couldn't hang out? Stiles began to feel like he was overreacting. He figured he could just ask Derek what he sent, since nobody else had access to his phone.

Stiles spent as much time as he could peacefully enjoying the warm embrace of the water, while spending an equal amount of time over-analyzing his life. His Father would always joke that he spent as much time in the shower as a girl would. With one foot out of the shower, Stiles grabbed the towel that was hung outside the shower door and simultaneously turned off his shower. He then stood in his shower and dried off as quickly as possible. Casually he stepped out of the shower into the uninviting cold air.

After wrapping the towel around his waist, he looked up to wipe the condensation off of his mirror, but took a step back in shock when he noticed something written across it in a language he did not immediately recognize.

**DUO SECRETORUM, UNUS ANIMA.**

He looked at his bathroom door and noticed it securely locked, as it was before he got in the shower, and knew that he would've heard somebody walking in any way. There was an overwhelming feeling of insecurity and he continued to stare at the writing on the mirror. He then walked out of his bathroom and sat on the edge of his bed trying to figure out what had just happened. He grabbed his phone and typed in the phrase "Duo secretorum, Unus anima" into Google Translate. The detected language was Latin, and the translation was "Two secrets, One soul". Stiles was oblivious to what it could possibly mean. "Maybe Derek knows…" He began to question aloud in a whisper.

Stiles looked up and almost fell off his bed as he noticed Derek sitting on a chair in the corner of his room.

"Jesus, man, I just got out of the shower!" Stiles shouted at Derek as he tried covering his chest with his hands.

"That is the least of my worries right now. Really. I just need to know something." Derek said to him, staring directly into his eyes like something had just gone wrong.

"Can you hold on? Please? Do I have permission to _PUT ON CLOTHES_?" Stiles asked in an anxious voice. He felt vulnerable enough with clothes on; he did not feel even remotely comfortable without anything but a towel.

Stiles then walked back into the bathroom to grab the clean clothes he left on the floor. All of the condensation had already left the mirror and left no trace of the original writing. He quickly put on all of his clean clothes, praying that Derek would not walk in on his getting dressed, and tried to look around the room for any other random clues. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, though. He casually walked back out, trying to ignore the amount of damage that just occurred to his self-esteem.

"Ok. What do you need to know?" Stiles said without seeming miss a beat.

Derek looked directly at Stiles in the eyes and sharply asked, "Does the saying 'duo secretorum, unus anima' have any meaning to you?"


End file.
